Register



W. L. PADEN I May -21, 1940.

REGISTER Filed Oct. 27, 1934. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR YUM/hinge. ff/22L ATTORN-EY lu Y -May 21, 1940. w L, PADEN 2,201,319

REGISTER Filed Oct. 27,-1934 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR Liz/K1212 06 d ur/m2 I A TTORN EY Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REGISTER Application October 27,

Claims.

In cash registers of the drawer operated type as heretofore constructed the indicator operating mechanism has been of such a character that the rapid opening of the drawer would cause the indicator to oscillate or bounce and if the drawer was quickly closed the indicator would sometimes be overthrown or stopped in a position which did not correctly indicate the amount registered, and the main object of the present invention is to prevent such an occurrence.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken through the register and showing in elevation those parts thereof which are involved in the present invention; Fig. 2 is a detail view of the drawer controlled lever and of certain parts associated therewith; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the arm and lever assembly which controls the operation of the mechanism; and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of the respective arms and levers of Fig. 3.

In my prior patent, 1,993,452, issued March 5, 1935, I have shown a cash register with transaction keys l and clerks keys M which are depressed in conventional manner to limit the movement of the graduated segment 2 mounted on a shaft 3. The graduated segment has a rearwardly extending arm 4 provided with a lug 5 which overlies a lever 5 provided with a rearwardly extending arm 7 having a segmental gear 8 as a part thereof. The segmental gear 8 meshes with a rack gear 9 connected to a rack gear Ii] which meshes with a pinion H connected to a holding gear [2 and indicator [3. As is well-known in the art, it is impossible to operate one of the clerks keys unless a transaction key has been depressed and unless the transaction is a no sale, one or more of the money keys must be depressed. When the clerks key is depressed the register is operated and the graduated segment 2 moves in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in the drawings so that the lug 5 engages the arm I and pulls downwardly on the rack gears- 9 and Hi, rotating the indicator [3 to the position indicated by its respective key. When the drawer is closed the arm 4 will be rotated clockwise, the segment 2 will be returned to its zero position, the key will be released and a spring l5 would hold the holding gear l2 and indicator in the position in which the indicator had been set up to indicate the transaction. As the drawer was pushed in it would follow that the arm 1 would not partake of the movement of the arm 4.

In order to prevent the overthrow of the indicator I3 I have provided the following mechanism. An arm l8 pivoted on theshaft 3 is ten- 1934, Serial No. 750,334

sioned by a spring [1. This arm is provided with a roller l8 which normally abuts against a lever l9 pivoted on a shaft which lever l9 has a downwardly extending arm 2| which carries a pin 22 which is received within a bifurcated 6 arm 23 of the cam member 24 provided with cam slots 25 which receive pins 26 carried by the clerks key l4, it being well-known that when this key is depressed it will rotate the cam member 24 in a counter-clockwise direction, thereby 10 rotating the arm 2! and lever IS] in a clockwise direction and removing the lever H! from the roller [8, thereby freeing the arm i6 so that the spring IT can move the said arm It to the left as viewed in the drawings. As the arm I6 is thus 1 moved by the spring, the roller i3 contacts a downwardly extending projection 21 of a lever 28 secured to a shaft 29 to which is also secured the spring is, thereby removing the spring l5 from holding engagement with the holding gear l2 and the spring 30 connected to the outer end of the lever 8 rotates the indicator to its zero position. A lever 3| mounted on the shaft 20 is provided with a forwardly extending arm 32 which rests beneath the lever l9 and carries a 25 roller 33 at its forward end which contacts an arcuate surface 34 of the arm IS. The levers l9 and 3| are separately movable on the shaft 20 and the arm 32, which is rigid with the lever 3|, has an offset portion arranged beneath and in the path of the lever I9 so that the arm 32 will be moved downwardly by the lever l9 and the lever [B will be moved upwardly by the arm 32 when the latter is actuated as hereinafter described. As the lever 19 is rotated clockwise as 85 above described, the lever 3| and its arm 32 are correspondingly moved so as to remove the roller 33 from the arcuate surface 34, such movement being against the tension of the spring 35 connected to the lever 3|.

Secured to the shaft 29 is an arm 36 which carries a pin 31 connected to a link 38 having a slot 39 which receives a pin 40 carried by a bell crank lever 4|. The lever 4| has a forwardly and downwardly extending arm 42 which carries a stud 43 which rests on a curved surface 44 of an arm 45 pivoted on a pin 46 carried by the arm 4 of the graduated segment 2. Another arm 41 of the lever 4| is provided with an over-turned lug 48 adapted to engage the ratchet teeth 49 of the arm 45. It is, therefore, apparent that when the lever 28 is rotated clockwise by the roller l8 as soon as the clerks release key is depressed, the arm 36 would likewise rotate and move the link 38 to the left as viewed in the drawings so that the spring 56 connected to the pin All would rotate the bell crank lever 45 counter-clockwise so that the lug 48 would come into contact with the ratchet teeth 49 and as the arm it moved downwardly with the arm 4 the lug 18 would be cammed outwardly by each one of the ratchet teeth 49 passing beneath the same.

When the clerks key i l is depressed the drawer 5| is released bya well-known means and is moved outwardly by conventional means, thereby releasing the lever 52 having an upstanding arm 53 and the spring 54 moves the lever 52 counter-clockwise. This lever underlies a cross bar 55 carried by each of the arms t.

The arm i5 has an extension 5'3 to which is attached a spring 5?, which spring tends to rotate the arm 45 countcrclockwise, which is normally resisted by the stud 43 of the arm 52. When, however, the clerks release key is depressed and the arm 42 is rotated counter-clockwise as heretofore described, the stud it is raised .above the arm 45 and the spring 5i rotates the arm counter-clockwise so as to engage the stud carried by the arm 7 with the notch 59 carried by the arm Mi so that the arms and t5 are locked together and will move as a unit. As the graduated segment 2 rotates anticlockwise when the drawer is released the arm l will drop by gravity carrying with it the arm and since the arm 'i is locked to the arm 45 the indicator 13 will be moved precisely to the extent of actuation of the segment 2. The indicator it cannot move beyond the necessary amount to register the amount set up on the key depressed ior the :1 key depressed will positively limit the movement of the segment 2. On the other hand, it would be impossible even if the interior parts of the register were readily accessible to the operator for him to take his hand, for instance, and rotate the indicator E3 to indicate a lesser amount for such movement would be resisted by the ratchet teeth 49 and the arm M carrying the over--turned lug it. By the above mentioned means I have, therefore, provided a mechanism which causes the indicator it to indicate the amount corresponding to the depressed key and have provided means to positively prevent it being rotated beyond that point, as well as means to prevent the indicator being moved from the amount which should be indicated to a lesser amount.

During its closing movement the drawer acts upon the lever 52 to rotate the same in a clockwise direction and thus restore the arms t and segments 2 to their initial positions but before the arms t can be returned to their initial positions the arm 65 must be disconnected from the segmental rack i and released from the projection or detent pawl 43, and the indicator must be locked in its adjusted position. When the lever 52 is in its lowermost position, with the drawer open, it will be spaced a substantial distance below the lowest position to which any of the cross bars 55 may move, and that portion oi the upward movement of the lever before it engages the cross bars is utilized to lock the indicator,.

release the arm 45 and restore various other parts of the mechanism to their initial positions. For this purpose the lever 52 is provided with an upwardly extending arm Eli having a relatively wide upper portion shaped to provide the same with an arcuate portion 76, a substantially radial shoulder II and a second arcuate portion l2 having a slightly longer radius than the arcuate portion 10, this second arcuate portion extending from the shoulder H to the right hand edge it of the arm.

The upper end of this arm 60 is located just below the arm 32 and its roller 33 and it will be recalled that when the clerks key 14 is depressed and the indicator reset to zero this arm 32 moves clockwise to permit the movement of the arm It. This movement of the arm 32 carries the roller 33 to a position adjacent to or in contact with the arcuate surface 10 of the arm 68. The downward movement of the lever 52, upon the opening of the drawer, causes the arm st to move to the left, as shown in the drawings, and the shoulder ll engages the roller 33 and imparts further clockwise movement to the arm 32 until the roller can ride over the shoulder and arcuate surface 72 and upon the completion of the movement of the arm til the roller will drop off the right hand end of the surface '12 and will lie beyond and in the path of the right band edge of the arm, so as to be engaged and actuated by that edge when the arm is moved to the right. The initial movement imparted to the lever 52 by the closing of the drawer will cause the edge 13 of the arm 60 to engage the roller 33 and move the arm 32 in a counterclockwise direction to its initial position, as shown in the drawings. As the arm moves to its initial position the roller will engage the edge of the lever 16 and move that lever against the action of the spring I! to its initial position. Inasmuch as the arm 32 underlies the arm it) the arm l9 also will be restored to its initial position in the path of the roller It on the arm I6 so as to lock that arm in its normal position. As the arm It moves to its initial position the roller l8 will act on the cam surface EH at the lower end of the lever 2i and move that lever counterclockwise, thus causing the spring or detent l5 to be moved into one of the recesses in the holding gear l2 and to be held in that recess so long as the arm 19 lies in the path of the roller 18. The movement of the lever 28 to its initial position also imparts counterclockwise movement to the arm 36 and this movement is transmitted through the link 38 to the bell crank or three arm lever, but due to the pin and slot connection between the link and the three arm lever no movement will be imparted to the latter until after the locking spring has entered the recess in the holding gear. The further movement of the arm 36 will then actuate the three arm lever to raise the projection or pawl 48 out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 49 and to cause the pin 43 on the arm 42 to act on the arcuate surface of the arm 4-5 to move the same clockwise about its axis 46 and thus disengage the same from the stud 58 on the segmental rack 7. Thus the indicator is locked, the arm i5 is disconnected from the segmental rack and released from its holding pawl 38 so that it is free to move upwardly with the arms l. All this takes place before the lever 52 has engaged the cross bars 55 and the further closing movement of the drawer will cause the lever to engage the cross bars and thus restore the arms 4, segments 2 and arms 45 to their initial positions. This movement of the arms 4 imparts no movement to the segmental rack and this rack and the parts which connect the same with the indicator are held against movement by the locking spring I5.

I realize that many changes may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof and I therefore, desire to claim the same broadly except as I may limit myself in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In a register comprising an indicator, an actuating device for said indicator, an arm pivoted for up and down movements, means for causing said actuating device to move downwardly with said arm, and means including a lever to control the movements of said arm; an overthrow preventing device mounted on said arm, manually controlled means for connecting said overthrow preventing device with said actuating device to cause said devices to move in unison, means for preventing the upward movement of said overthrow preventing device while it is connected with said actuating device, and means controlled by said lever to disconnect said overthrow preventing device from said actuating device and release the same for upward movement with relation to said actuating device.

2. In a register comprising an indicator, an actuating device for said indicator, an arm pivoted for up and down movements, means for causing said actuating device to move downwardly with said arm, and means including a lever to control the movements of said arm; an overthrow preventing device movably mounted on said arm; said overthrow preventing device and said actuating device having cooperating parts controlled by the movement of said overthrow preventing device to connect said devices for movement in unison, means for moving said overthrow preventing device to its connected position, a controlling device having means for moving said overthrow preventing device to and retaining the same in its disconnected position and also having a normally inoperative part to prevent the upward movement of said overthrow preventing device while the latter is connected with said actuating device, manually controlled means to actuate said controlling device to release said overthrow preventing device for movement to its connected position and to move said part of said controlling device into operative relation to said overthrow preventing device, and means controlled by said lever to actuate said controlling device to retract said part thereof and to move said overthrow preventing device to its disconnected position.

3. In a register comprising an indicator, an actuating device for said indicator, an arm pivoted for up and down movements, means for causing said actuating device to move downwardly with said arm, and means including a lever to control the movements of said arm; an arcuate overthrow preventing device pivotally mounted on said arm and having a smooth portion and a toothed portion, said overthrow preventing device and said actuating device having cooperating parts controlled by the pivotal movement of said overthrow preventing device to connect said devices for movement in unison, a spring tending to move said overthrow preventing device to said connected position, a pivoted controlling device comprising a part to act on the smooth portion of said overthrow preventing device to move the latter to and retain the same in its disconnected position and having a second part to engage the toothed portion of said overthrow preventing device to lock the same against upward movement, manually controlled means to move said controlling device in a direction to release said overthrow preventing device for movement by said spring and to lock the same against upward movement, and means controlled by said lever to move said controlling device in a direction to move said overthrow preventing device against the action of said spring to its disconnected position and to release the same for upward movement with relation to said actuating device.

4. In a register comprising an indicator, an actuating device for said indicator, an arm pivoted for up and down movements, means for causing said actuating device to move downwardly with said arm, and means including a lever to control the movements of said arm; an overthrow preventing device movably mounted on said arm, means for moving said overthrow preventing device into interlocking connection with said actuating device to cause said devices to move in unison, a controlling device including a part to move said overthrow preventing device to and retain the same in its disconnected position, and a normally inoperative pawl to prevent the upward movement of said overthrow preventing device while it is connected with said actuating device, a second lever, manually controlled means for moving said second lever in one direction, means controlled by the movement of said second lever in said direction to actuate said controlling device to release said overthrow preventing device for movement to its connected position and to move said pawl into operative relation to said overthrow preventing device, a member connected with the first mentioned lever for movement thereby, means actuated by said member to return said second lever to its initial position, and means controlled by said return movement of said second lever to actuate said controlling device to release said overthrow preventing device for upward movement and to disconnect the same from said actuating device.

5. In a register comprising an indicator, an actuating device for said indicator, an arm pivoted for up and down movements, means for causing said actuating device to move downwardly with said arm, and means including a lever to control the movements of said arm; an overthrow preventing device mounted on said arm, means for connecting said overthrow preventing device with said actuating device to cause said devices to move in unison, a unitary control-' ling device comprising rigidly connected parts arranged respectively to cause said overthrow preventing device to be connected with said actuating device and to lock the overthrow preventing device against upward movement while so connected when said controlling device is moved in one direction and to disconnect said overthrow preventing device from said actuating device and to release the same for upward movement with relation to said actuating device when said controlling device is moved in another direction, a second lever, means controlled by one movement of said lever to impart the first mentioned movement to said controlling device and controlled by another movement of said second lever to impart the last mentioned movement to said controlling device, manually controlled means to impart the first mentioned movement to said second lever, and means actuated by thefirst mentioned lever to impart the last mentioned movement to said second lever.

WELIAM L. PADEN. 

